


What is the implication of the rectangular rainbow?

by SteampunkWilson



Category: Ghosts (TV 2019)
Genre: Alison being an overenthusiastic ally, Alison is probably super OOC, Coming Out, I don't care if it's not confirmed THIS MAN IS GAY!, Post-Episode: s2e06, The Captain is Gay (Ghosts TV 2019), gays are always coming into your house getting married and leaving mess everywhere, rectangular rainbow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26652754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteampunkWilson/pseuds/SteampunkWilson
Summary: After witnessing a same sex wedding with his own eyes, the Captain has an urgent question he needs to ask Alison about modern day affairs, particularly how an affair between two men would be treated.
Relationships: Alison & The Captain (Ghosts TV 2019), The Captain/Lieutenant Havers
Comments: 19
Kudos: 210





	What is the implication of the rectangular rainbow?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, I love this show, it's genius and the Captain is my favourite character! I loved his backstory episode and the entire series is amazing, so I wrote this little beauty :)

"Alison! Might I bother you for a moment?"

Alison looked up and tried to blink the stress out of her weary eyes. The wedding was over now, as was the snowstorm, which had commanded that the guests stay the night. Needless to say, nobody in the party had been thrilled about staying over in a creepy, groaning haunted house in the middle of nowhere, so had left almost immediately as the torrent of snow stopped outside. Leaving Alison and Mike to clear up the mess.

Alison rubbed her eyes before realising it was the Captain who had spoken, hovering somewhat awkwardly beside the door. He looked slightly tense, if a ghost ever could look tense. She nodded at him and smiled briefly.

"Sure, what is it?" She asked. The Captain stepped briskly into the room, she could see it now, he was definitely tense, or at the very least nervous. Hell, she could use a break herself! Alison sat down on one of the still standing chairs as the ghost approached her.

The Captain stopped when he was about five paces in front of her, wringing his hands nervously. His sharp eyes refused to meet her gaze and Alison felt a small frown drift onto her face. "What's the matter?" She asked. "If you're here to tell me that some stuffed cat, or, or stuffed bird is missing again then I will-"

"No, no, nothing of that sort." Captain dismissed her queries with a short wave of the hand. "This a rather, uh, personal matter of mine that I was hoping to discuss."

"Personal matter?" Alison repeated, now she understood why the ghost looked so unsettled. When it came to the Captain it was usually business first, and personal matters nowhere near second, in fact, personal matters were considered so insignificant that they weren't even granted a rank of number. 

"Yes. It's, well, it's about the wedding yesterday." He glanced this way and that, refusing to meet her gaze. "I was just wondering about a rather specific detail, two specific details in fact."

"OK." Alison remarked, rubbing her sore back. "Which are?"

"The brides." The captain remarked. "The fact that there were two of them."

Alison sighed and rubbed her forehead, she was too tired for this crap. "Not this again, OK look! I don't care what year you lot where born in, but times have changed since then! Sam and Claire love each other and-"

"No, it's not that I-" The Captain cut her off. "That I have a problem with it! I just, had a question."

"If you've come to ask me how they, uh, consummate, then don't bother, Fanny already-" The Captain made a thoroughly disgusted face which cut her off mid sentence. "OK, what do you want to ask?"

The Captain looked like he was bordering on fear now, his hands wouldn't stay still and his eyes were focusing on anywhere but Alison, mostly the floor. When he spoke again, he had to draw in a breath of air before he could even get the words out.

"Could two men do that?" He asked very quietly.

"Could what?" Alison leaned closer. The Captain rolled his eyes and repeated the question, only slightly louder.

"Could two men do that? Could they marry each other, not a bride in sight, and live a happy life together without worrying, worrying what people would think?"

Alison paused for a moment to unpack what he had said, and then her eyes widened in realisation. "Uh, yeah, gay marriage was legalised in twenty-thirteen. Why?" She stood up and went over to him, making sure that her expression was kind and not condescending or exhausting. "Captain, is there something you want to tell me?"

The Captain still wouldn't meet her gaze. "His name was Lieutenant Havers." He murmured very quietly. "We... I loved him, very much. He had to leave however, to serve in his place on the front lines in Africa. I would have accompanied him, if I had been able to. I doubt it would have made much of a difference. He was shot and killed, within three days of arriving in the country."

"Oh Captain!" Alison gasped, putting a hand on the ghost's shoulder. "That, that's terrible."

The Captain nodded and looked up and straight ahead. "All water under the bridge now Alison, I can assure you. I've had more than fifty years to recover. I just, seeing those two lovely women together at their wedding, it made me wonder what things could have been like if we were able to live as you do, in this time."

"Captain." Alison raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you telling me that you're gay?"

The Captain frowned at her and said: "If that is the term used these days, than yes. I have known for years that I am," He stumbled slightly on his words but continued. "A homosexual."

Alison nodded, smiling. "Nice. No judgement here. You just, do you. Or rather, do men."

Privately she wished Mike had been around to hear her excellent joke. The Captain certainly didn't seem amused; he ignored her word play altogether.

"I must say, this is the first time I've ever been able to tell someone who wasn't, you know," He faltered on his wording again.

"Gay as well?" Alison offered and he nodded. "It's fine, you know. Lots of people struggle with this at first. One of my old high school friends was so nervous to tell me and Mike that he actually pissed himself!" She chuckled briefly at the memory. "But we're cool with it! I bet if I told Mike then he'd-"

The Captain quickly held up a hand to cut her off. "No need for that, my dear. I want to make it clear to you that I, that this is a realisation, a confession, that I have only just told to you, and no-one else. I would, ah, appreciate it if you kept my secret." 

"What? Come on-" Alison grabbed her phone out of her pocket. "Captain, this isn't something you need to hide in this century! There's a whole thing nowadays, it's called gay pride, where people like you, and Sam and Claire go to just celebrate what makes them different and are happy to be themselves! Here, look!" She pulled up a webpage and held her phone up for him to see. "This one's local!" 

The Captain frowned as he peered at her mobile phone's screen. "What is the implication of the rectangular rainbow?" He murmured.

"Oh, that's the pride flag." Alison said, zooming in on the image. "There's a whole bunch of them that all mean different things, but that's the main one. It's just, you know, a flag that people use to show the haters that, yeah, we're here and we're not afraid of you anymore. A symbol, something for them to stand under."

"No sir!" The Captain stood up straight, clicking his heels together like soldier he was. "The only flag this solder will stand under is the Union Jack!"

"Oh come on!" Alison grinned at him. "At least give it a try, this is part of you, you should be proud of it! Look here," She scrolled down the screen. "There's a section here where people share their experiences, coming out, first crush, their dating lives..." She trailed off once she realised that this was making no sense to him. "Maybe you could read it? Or, you know, add something yourself?"

"Such as?" The Captain frowned briskly at her. "I was a Captain during the second great war, I fell in love with my Lieutenant and we lived in fear of the other men on the base finding out? That I couldn't bring myself to love again since-" He drew in a sharp breath, cutting himself off. 

"Yeah, OK, maybe that's not one of my best ideas." Alison admitted. "But at least admit it to yourself! You're a gay man. That's not something you should hide!"

The Captain hummed under his breath, looking lost in thought. He stared at the wall for a few moments before breathing deeply and saying under his breath: "I am gay. I am a gay man."

"That's it!" Alison said encouragingly. "Look, I really need to clear up this room, but you could stay a bit longer, if you want? Talk about stuff?"

The Captain shook his head firmly. "No, I think that's enough, ahem, personal revelations for the day. I think I'll go work on my timing. Got to knock off a few seconds here and there!"

"Sure." Alison nodded. "You do that."

He saluted her and left the room, a smile on his face. He looked happy for the first time in a while, and it suited him.

Alison smiled to herself, happy to have helped one of her friends, and then turned back to the mess of a room that the wedding guests had left behind. Right. The mess.

Bending down to pick up her trash bag again, she sighed. Just another day in the haunted house.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed, kudos and comments are my lifeblood :)


End file.
